Charles Steven Kress (December 9, 1921 – March 4, 2014) was an American professional baseball player and manager.

Biography

This first baseman played in all or parts of four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between and for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, Chicago White Sox,

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

, appearing in 175

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

. His seveteen-year active career was interrupted by three years' service in the United States Army during World War II (1943–1945)."Chuck Kress Statistics and History"
"baseball-reference.com. Accessed May 30, 2017. Kress was born in Philadelphia, where he attended

Frankford High School Frankford High School is a public high school in the School District of Philadelphia. It is located at Oxford Avenue and Wakeling Street in the Frankford section of Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Frankford was founded in 1910 as an annex ...

. Kress threw and batted left-handed, and was listed as tall and . In MLB, he appeared in one full season, , and parts of three others. In that full campaign, he began the year with the Reds, got into twenty-seven games, then was sold to the White Sox in June. In Chicago, he batted .278 in ninety-seven games with 104

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

and became the White Sox' regular first baseman. But only one of his hits was a home run, and after Kress began by going hitless in eight at bats, he was sold to the St. Louis Cardinals' organization and returned to the minor leagues. A productive 1953 season (25 home runs, 121 runs batted in, and .321 batting average) earned him one further partial season in the majors, , when he appeared in thirty-seven games for the Tigers and Dodgers and batted .163, largely as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

. He played professionally into the 1959 season. In his 175 big-league games, Kress batted .249 with 116 hits, including twenty doubles. His lone MLB home run was a solo shot off the Tigers' Fred Hutchinson on July 1. Retrosheetbr>box score: 1949-07-01
/ref> As a minor leaguer, he got into 1,745 games and became a manager in the Tigers' and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

s. He retired from baseball in 1961, and moved to Rush Lake, Minnesota, in 1973, to St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1980, and to Sandpoint, Idaho, in 2002.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kress, Chuck 1921 births 2014 deaths Asheville Tourists managers Ashland Colonels players Baseball players from Philadelphia Brooklyn Dodgers players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Charleston Senators players Chicago White Sox players Cincinnati Reds players Columbia Reds players Columbus Red Birds players Cordele Reds players Des Moines Demons players Detroit Tigers players Durham Bulls managers Durham Bulls players Erie Sailors players Houston Buffaloes players Lenoir Reds players Major League Baseball first basemen People from Otter Tail County, Minnesota Sportspeople from St. Joseph, Missouri People from Sandpoint, Idaho Rochester Red Wings players Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players United States Army personnel of World War II